The Hindu : Congressmen back 'oust Saddam plan'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

International

International

Congressmen back 'oust Saddam plan'

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington JUNE 17. Top Congressional leaders from both the Democratic and the Republican parties have said that they would back any administration plan that toppled the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein.

Law makers have said that they would support a plan that is quick and decisive, including a military strike. On Sunday, The Washington Post had reported that the President, George W. Bush, had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency to use all means necessary to remove Mr. Hussein from power.

According to unnamed sources, the CIA has been authorised to take up a comprehensive covert operation that would include the use of Special Forces. The start of a covert operation against Iraq is seen in some quarters as the beginning of a full-fledged war, something that many in the Bush administration have been wanting to do for quite some time now. Mr. Bush, however, has been maintaining that he did not have war plans on his desk but has been stressing that Mr. Hussein has to go. "If we wait for threats to materialise, we will have waited too long. The war on terror will not be won on the defensive — we must take the battle to the enemy'', the President remarked at the West Point Military Academy last week.

Mr. Bush did not identify any country specifically but has included Iraq in his "Axis of Evil'' list. "The President's right on track. How we do it, when we do it, I don't know. And I'm not sure even the President knows. But this man (Saddam Hussein) needs to go'', said Senator Richard Shelby, Republican who is senior member in the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"The sooner we have a regime change, the better off we'll be'', Mr. Shelby argued. Another senior Republican, John McCain, has said that plans to topple Mr. Hussein are "fine'' but that the country would have to be prepared for any eventual military strike. Of Mr. Hussein he said, "... he presents a clear and present danger''.

Leading Democrats like the Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, were not too far behind their Republican colleagues.

"I think there is broad support for regime change in Iraq. I think the timing of all this is very important. But we want to work with the administration and try to find the best way and the best time to do this'', said Mr. Daschle in a Sunday talk show.

Mr. Daschle, while making the point that The Washington Post report was not news to Congress, said there was satisfaction about consultations between the administration and the Congressional leadership.

The Minority Leader, Richard Gephardt, said the House has been briefed about the order "some months ago''.

Getting rid of Mr. Hussein, even if it means that he would have to be killed in the process, does not amount to assassinating a Head of State which is prohibited by domestic law, according to Mr. Gephardt. "The policy is still intact. I think in this case, it's trying to bring about a change of regime because they have continued to violate and flout U.N. Resolutions and international law'', the top Democrat in the House argued.

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